US Travel goals

These those places in grey -- those are the states I still need to visit.
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Life goals

views from the road

I was in the train, briefly, and this was as close as I got to the beach on my short trip south.

Still it was lovely! I spent as much of the hour as possible checking for whale spouts. I didn't see any, but it was fun to be able to try.

I wish I had gotten at least one long walk by the water... next time.

Instead, the only forays into the world beyond my computer were the rest stop near Gaviota.

It had the best signage I had seen in a long while.

And this view of the mountains.

Frolicking dogs need to be careful of rattler snakes... just saying.

I also took a hike to see Chila... but I will save that for another post.

Princeton postcard

This has been sitting in my draft folder for a while ... thinking I would figure out how to debrief my trip back to Old Nassau.  But April is a cruel month and these memories and feelings can't be processed so easily.  So here is a little photolog of the trip.

We took an early flight out of San Jose. We left the house before the sun was awake.  But it rose just as we took off, giving this spectacular good morning to all those tired travelers.

We landed in Newark, as it is still the easiest airport to get to/from Princeton.  And this was the first sight of New York in the distance.  It is still remarkable to me how close and yet how far NYC is from Princeton.

Also, I noticed, for the first time, how alike Oakland and Newark are... see the port and those machines that were Lucas' inspiration for those walking monstrosities in Star Wars?

This was my residential college... first steps off the new Dinky stop you see good old Forbes (or PIC if you are older).  The sun was so bright, I was trying to see what I was aiming at, but instead caught my fingers.

It must mean something to see like this, but I will leave it up to you, dear reader.

People love to remark on the beauty of the campus.

I have to say since my time there was so fraught, I never noticed beauty.

But there is beauty that I can now appreciate... especially in the details.

These small creatures some scary and others whimsical that guard arches and doorways are some of my favorites.

Here's another that struck me on this trip.

I spent many hours in this building as it housed my department.  I also happen to think it is one of the most beautiful.  I am sure that others have fond memories or like the looks of others better.

It started raining after this and I forgot to take a lot of pictures.  But I have a few more, especially of the conference that I will share later.

Olympia - searching for Ent Wives

Ever since I read Tolkien, I have been searching for the Ent Wives.

These are some candidates I met in Olympia.

Olympia - fascination with ice

Even though I got brain freeze walking around without my hat on the first day, I still stopped to admire the designs the ice made.  Here are a few examples...

photolog - Las Vegas

We decamped for Las Vegas for the holidays -- it was my idea, but that was before I realized how hard it would be to travel with someone who had just had surgery.  But holidays are for being with the family, right?

Besides, who wouldn't want to make this happen?

There were some walks.

There were dogs.

And there was family.